QSS Measurement Standards, Part 2: Time

Once interstellar species began to trade with one another, common references of measurement had to be agreed upon. The Standards Convention of Gom met for the equivalent of thirty-two Earth years to decide and agree on these issues. Humans were not part of the convention as they had not yet ventured beyond their own solar system.

Time

This was the single most contentious issue and consumed over twenty-four [Earth] years of debate. There had to be some common natural basis upon which to base time measurements. Many wanted the basis to be from a resonant frequency of a naturally occurring atom — ideally, hydrogen. At the time of the Convention, several species lacked the high-precision expertise to make this sort of measurement; remaining species were reluctant to share the technology that would allow these measurements.

In the end, it was decided to make the initial standard the half-life of some elemental isotope—either naturally occurring, or not too difficult to synthesize. They would later refine this standard to be based on atomic resonances—calculated in such a way so as to match existing measurements. Nitrogen was chosen for its abundance. The nitrogen-20 isotope was chosen due to it being a manageable frequency for all cultures, even those just emerging technologically.